John Law's Mississippi Company collapses

Historical Context Note

Robert Clark (The Literary Encyclopedia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Domains

Economic Crises
Organisations and institutions (economic)

Dates

Date of occurrence 1720-05-21

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

Resources

Recommended Reading

John Law’s Mississippi Company, its vertiginous rise and spectacular collapse, have gone down in history as among the most famous “bubbles” of all time. The events run parallel to the creation of the South Sea Bubble in England (on which see Colin Nicholson’s essay on the Financial Revolution).

John Law was born in 1671 with the expectations of a man of substance, son of a goldsmith and heir to Lauriston Castle. However, he turned out a gambler, a womanizer, and a murderer (in a duel), and a fugitive from English law. He fled to Amsterdam, then the nascent capital of world trade and Bethlehem of such modern financial institutions as stock markets, …

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434 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "John Law's Mississippi Company collapses". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 August 2009 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=7196, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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